Auto PR

No… there’s no automatic system to handle PR activities. We would wish for an Auto PR tool, but it hasn’t been invented yet.This article is about PR in the automotive field, especially for the B2B part of it. In Romania (but not only), automotive related press is pretty scarce. So you can’t rely entirely on sending out a press release, even if it is interesting and innovating.

Just to summarize the situation of the media for the B2B automotive industry:1. There’s a maximum of 3 specialized magazines/ websites that actually publish technical articles.2. There’s a maximum of 7 magazines/ websites with a more general automotive content, suitable for the B2C communication – the drivers.

Ok, now just multiply the sum (10 automotive content publishers) by 3 and you’ll find out the number of publishers for the automotive field in Poland. And at least 10 of those are just for the B2B part.

So, why is there such a difference between Poland and the countries with relatively few automotive content publishers? Aren’t there enough readers for this kind of content?

Yes, there are… But the problem is the content. Most of the time, companies with a strong B2B orientation are struggling to generate a more digestible content for their readers. And when they do, it is not enough and, definitely, not consistent. So, here’s what you should consider:

1. Always keep in mind that PR is built over time. It doesn’t just pop out and works.

2. PR is about connecting with your readers… and your press contacts. Just remember that, because (as in any other relationship) you need to communicate.

3. Don’t send articles just for the sake of it. For each of your articles, try answering this question: will your readers have the interest and time to read it?

… ok, but I wanted to talk more about what you do when you don’t have enough media through which you can get your message to your audience.

What solutions are out there?Let’s consider a more technical field, such as the car spare parts industry, where we have an extensive experience:

1. Use Social Media to communicate. Yes, your B2B customers are also checking their Facebook account, they are posting pictures on Instagram and they do like to gossip on the latest tweets.

2. Use your distributors in order to spread your message. Whether through their website or their Social Media accounts, this approach can lead to very effective PR communication.

3. Contribute to a cause in your community. It would be great if it were related to your industry, but if not, connect your cause to your company culture and/or to one of your values.

4. Ultimately, nothing beats the human-to-human approach. So, organize or participate in an event, go on a roadshow, use every opportunity to meet your audience face to face.

What’s your opinion on B2B PR activities? Is there any other solution you’ve found to be effective? Share it with us! We’d love to discuss it with you and enrich each other’s knowledge.

Thanks for posting. I'll not agree that marketing automation has to be expensive. Right now there's quite a lot of tools, like GetResponse, active campaign or mailchimp, that make marketing automation quite affordable for smaller companies. It's pretty much all about testing the tools and see what fits your business and strategy.

Thanks for the answer! That sounds good, even if it is not strictly about Facebook status updates. However, the lack of metrics makes me think that the customers coming directly from Facebook organic post are rather the exception than the rule, i.e. the orders are insignifiant compared to the total orders generated by online marketing and as such, the role of the Facebook website is still PR (maybe not 100%, but 99.98% :) ). I would love to be confuted on this point.

One of our eCommerce clients has monthly customers coming directly from Facebook organic posts. Also, the Facebook ads have very good results in terms of sales.
For our B2B clients, Facebook is a channel that assists the sales... even if there are not direct sales.

"From our results, we know that Facebook status updates can get new customers, not just convince fans that the business has morals and positive values. " - I am curios about the figures behind this statement. Was this a one time status update that brought new customers or does that happen regularly, so that one can really plan (i.e. set goals) a specific number of customers/orders or value of orders generated by status updates?

It is a simple answer and introducing paragraph is covering this: "Does Social Media sell or does it only get people to know your business better? This is a good question. From our experience, Social Media can do both if the job is done well."
PR is producing knowledge value transfer but is not direct selling.
Marketing is producing knowledge and could transform information in money. Marketing is covering PR.
Social Media Management is more than, not only an activity field. Social Media is in the same time a battlefield, a knowledge transfer field, a marketing tool, or a sales remote open agent. But social media could be also education classroom, professional forum, services laboratory, and many, many others.. From this perspective any type of Agency or Job position is using SM for his own purposes.
Inside of any organization there are different jobs who cover SM activities: PR, Marketing, Business Development Board, HR, CRM...
It is a current trend in corporate structure companies to create a special SMM job position affiliated do Mktg and Sales Department.

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